Today was a pretty low-energy day until I burned 855 calories in two hours in a Zumba double-header.
WHEE (Weight, Health, Eating and Exercise) is a community support diary for Kossacks who are currently or planning to start losing, gaining or maintaining their weight through diet and exercise or fitness. Any supportive comments, suggestions or positive distractions are appreciated. If you are working on your weight or fitness, please -- join us! You can also click the WHEE tag to view all diary posts.
I got a Bodybugg in April and really started kicking myself into gear to lose about 30 pounds (as described here). I figured out that running (even the 12 minute mile "running" that I do) burns about 9 calories per minute, and that none of the other exercise that I do is quite as effective. For me, brisk walking (in my nifty Earth exer-fit sandals) burns about 6-7 calories per minute. The elliptical is the same. Ballroom dancing burns about 3-4 per minute with occasional spikes, but it's the kind of exercise that you can do for 2-3 hours. Casual walking, like from my car to my office, burns about 5 calories per minute. And light household tasks burn 2-3.
I set up a routine in which I got up every morning early. I'd go for a 3 miler around the neighborhood, running as much of it as possible and walking the rest. Then if it was a heavy exercise day (and I didn't have to get to work too early) I'd head into the house, change shoes, and do a short step aerobics+weights video from The FIRM. With that combination of exercise, I could literally lie down for the rest of the day and still hit my calorie burn goal so it made me feel very virtuous.
This was fantastic all summer. The problem is, I live in Western NC. If you're familiar, you know that we're placed in the time zone such that sunrise is relatively late. Right now, at the very end of daylight savings, it is still twilight at 8 a.m. Not exactly conducive to waking up at 5:30 and getting ready to jam. And it rains quite frequently in the mornings, or at least mists and murks, so that the run is chilly and damp.
So I had to try another exercise:
Serendipitously, on Facebook no less, I found this local outfit called Queen City Dancing Queen. They teach Zumba, which is a kind of latin dance based aerobics that's very popular with the kids these days. And they teach related classes with names like "Hit It" (a kickboxing/dance mix) and "Urban Shimmy" (bollywood and belly dance). And you can spend $48 for a month, and if you've got the time you can go to a class every single day.
And the crazy thing is, a lot of people do. Because it's fun.
You might think that you can't do that. You might think that you're a guy and you'll look like a dork (though what guy wouldn't want to go to a class that's 99% women in tights?) You might think that you can't dance. You might think that you're chubby or outright fat and will look funny shaking your booty in a way that, in our minds, is reserved for hot size zero girls in the clubs. But you know what? No one's looking, and no one cares. And the motto is "if you're moving, you're doing it right".
And the secret is, this "dance class"? Burns almost as many calories as running.
Sure, it doesn't quite make it up to 9 calories/minute. But I have to say, it's a heck of a lot more fun than a dutiful hour of brisk walking. And in the context of a day like today it's a glorious thing.
See that little peak at 5:45? That was me, getting up. Showering. The little tiny peaks are going to work and carrying my stuff in from the car. Then I sat there for several hours and prepped my class. The broad low peak around noon is me giving a lecture. The small peak at 3 is me walking across the street to Starbucks' to get a coffee; at 4, walking across campus to a meeting with a colleague; at 5, walking back to my car. And then the giant, tall peaks between 6:30 and 7:30, and 7:40 and 8:40, are me taking two QCDQ classes in a row, just because I could, for a whopping total of 855 calories.
I'm on my second "Dance Fanatic" card. I've gone to a class almost every day since I started, except when I had that pesky swine flu for the last couple of weeks. And I'm kind of thinking that this form of exercise might get me through the very dark days of winter between now and January, when in other years I might have moped and lost motivation and hoped just to maintain.
There is no real moral of the story, except that maybe if it's fun instead of duty, you'll find it in you to do something crazy and maybe even a little undignified to burn your calories for the day.
Oops, forgot to include teh calendarz, tell us what you do to keep your exercise fun. Or whatever:
October 27
Tues AM - bonsai superstar from Japan
Tues PM - Clio2 (Kessler, Ch. 18)
October 28
Weds AM - ???
Weds PM - Edward Spurlock
October 29
Thurs AM - A DC Wonk
Thurs PM - ???
October 30
Fri AM - ???
Fri PM sychoticI
October 31
Sat AM - ???
Sat PM - Edward Spurlock (Kessler, Ch. 19)
November 1
Sun AM - kismet -- the calorie value of everyday tasks
Sun PM - ???
November 2
Mon AM- NC Dem- Muscle of the Month-Deltoids
Mon PM- ???